Mentoring Diversity Travel Award

Initiated in 2018, this award provides funding for one underrepresented PhD-graduate/undergraduate student or postdoctoral fellow who is 1st author (first person listed on the abstract; co-first-authors are not considered) on a submitted abstract and has been selected to give an oral or poster presentation at the annual society meeting. The definition of Diversity for this award follows NIH guidelines and is defined as A) individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups shown to be underrepresented nationally (http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/showpub.cfm?TopID=2&SubID=27 and the report Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering) defined as Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders and B) individuals with disabilities, defined as those with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. See http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-15-053.html for more details. Those qualifying as underrepresented socio-economic groups are also eligible provided written description of the background challenges.

The selected individual will be provided support to attend the annual meeting not to exceed $3,000 inclusive of refunded meeting registration, economy airfare and ground transportation, 3-4 nights hotel depending on travel distance and incidentals based on receipts provided. Receipts must be provided for all disbursement requests. Meeting attendance is required.

Candidates will submit a CV, letter addressing how they align with the NIH guidelines and how attendance at the annual SLB will foster their career development, and 1 letter of recommendation from a mentor for the application.

Up to 3 of these awards may be provided annually and determined by a review of the awards committee along with the annual award review process. Candidates do not have to be current society members. The award will include a 3 year student or postdoc society membership. Awardees will be highlighted in the newsletter and on the website. In support of the mentoring portion of this award, the awardee(s) will be paired with a senior member of the society to host them during the annual meeting and support their networking efforts at the meeting.

2018 applications are now closed. Consider applying during the 2019 abstract submission process. Email with questions.